Jersey Shore

MARGATE, N.J. - Authorities are trying to determine what caused the death of a harbor porpoise that washed up on the beach this weekend. Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, said the porpoise found Saturday in Margate likely died after becoming tangled in a fishing net. But he said a necropsy would be performed. Schoelkopf also noted that numerous gray seals were seen on Jersey Shore beaches over the weekend. - AP

The Coast Guard rescued four people from a sailboat that lost its rudder and engine after apparently running aground early Wednesday, a mile off Little Egg Inlet. A frantic distress call from the 30-foot Fiona came in before 4 a.m. as those in the boat reported the vessel taking on water and they feared it was sinking quickly, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Cindy Oldham. A 25-foot response boat and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter responded, but the exact location of the sailboat had not been known.

Victims of Sandy at the Jersey Shore will be getting some help navigating the daunting financial choices they have ahead of them. The Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund on Monday gave a $600,000 grant to a nonprofit group called Operation Hope. It will offer free financial counseling from trained experts in Brick Township. The charity is run by Mary Pat Christie, the wife of the governor. She said she was told by leaders of hurricane relief in Florida that many storm victims had limited financial knowledge, adding that she doesn't want that to happen here.

TRENTON - When Hurricane Sandy smashed into the Jersey Shore in October, it not only destroyed the homes and livelihoods of thousands, it left a matrix of potential environmental hazards. Miles of shoreline had been denuded; business and homes were wrecked; debris needed to be safely removed. Yet the New Jersey government agency that seemed best positioned to oversee a safe recovery, the Department of Environmental Protection, is smaller today than at any point since the early 1990s.

When Beatrice Katz Zitomer moved to Margate in 1979 and became a real estate agent, she had visions of catching the big housing wave powered by casino gambling. Already in her mid-40s, the former Cherry Hill kindergarten teacher spent almost a decade learning the business. In 1988, she opened Beatrice Zitomer Real Estate Inc. - just in time for the housing market to hit the rocks in one of the worst crashes in recent history. When she lost her partners, she rode out the storm solo, and prospered.

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Hundreds of college students have descended upon the Jersey Shore during spring break this year to help with cleanup and rebuilding in the wake of superstorm Sandy. And the state's public architecture school is bringing its expertise to bear in offering to help local officials and groups with research and design as the area rebuilds. The project at the New Jersey Institute of Technology - dubbed Resilient Design - will look at lessons gleaned from other flooded areas, from Venice to New Orleans, and is setting up studios throughout the affected areas of the state, said Thomas Dallessio, the project manager.

  Yes, it's technically spring. Yes, famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil indicated spring would arrive early. Yes, Jersey Shore entertainment venues spent the weekend cranking up for the beach season, and there was a regatta on the Schuylkill. But - and you knew this was coming – it appears Old Man Winter has decided to snow on this parade. Philadelphia is expected to get one to three inches of mostly slushy stuff Monday. North and west of the city there could be two to four inches, and the Shore could get three to six, by some estimates.

  ATLANTIC CITY - Jacob Zimlichman had heard the entire Jersey Shore was underwater, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He knew that wasn't true. That's why the New Yorker was on Atlantic City's Steel Pier on Sunday as part of the seaside entertainment park's summer-season debut. "I didn't have any second thoughts about coming here," Zimlichman said as he watched his child enjoy a ride on the Mighty Stampede. State tourism officials wish everyone were as confident of the many miles of New Jersey beaches in good condition.